© British Association of Social Workers
Social Adjustment: The Design and Use of an Instrument for Social Work and Social Work Research
Roslyn Corney is a lecturer in the General Practice Research Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry. She has been engaged in studying the effectiveness of social work attachments to general practice and is presently investigating the help seeking behaviour of women with marital problems.
Professor Anthony W. Clare, M.D. is Professor of Psychological Medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, and former Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director at the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London.
Dr Cairns was a Statistician at the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London, before taking up a research post in psychiatric epidemiology at the Max Planck Institute, Munich.
Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. R. Corney, General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5.
Summary
This article discusses some of the problems encountered when trying to assess social adjustment and describes a standardized semi-structured interview designed to measure social adjustment and dysfunction. The interview can be used by social workers as a research tool, a screening device or in making an assessment The interview is composed of items grouped under the three headings of ‘Material conditions’, ‘Social management’ and ‘Satisfaction’. Ratings are made on a four-point scale by interviewers standardized in its use. The interview which takes 40 minutes to one hour to administer, covers housing, finance, occupation, social and leisure activities, and relationships with significant individuals in the subject's life.